I recently took a business trip to Rocky Mount, VA, near Roanoke. This was a cross training exercise with my employer as we shift our focus from several scattered, fractured business units into a more compelling, unified force in the window and door industry. (ironic- cross training). Anyway, as is customary with most of the companies that I have worked for in the last several years, I was to fly from the best place in the world, Austin, to Roanoke with about twenty-two stops in between (I guess it's cheaper that way). On my way to Roanoke, I read about three chapters in Soul Revolutionand planned on finishing the book on the flights back. Well, my plans and God's plans don't always head in the same direction. God casts big picture type of plans and mine are usually about me. His plans are usually better too.

This story starts at a layover in Charlotte, NC, heading back to Austin...

I had just de-planed from my flight from Roanoke and made my way over to the terminal for my next flight to Austin. Now I have to tell you about this habit that I have when I fly. I try to guess who I am going to be sitting next to for the next several hours. Do you do this? I have this uncanny knack for being right about 75% of the time.

So I walked up to the terminal area and started my scan. There he was. I knew this guy was who I was going to be sitting next to for the next couple of hours. I have to be honest, when I saw him I just shouted in my head to God, "Please not him! He'll want to talk and I want to finish this book and listen to some Hard Bop jazz on my Zune. C'mon God, it's a Christian book!" It didn't take long before God responded and prompted me in my heart that this was who would be my "suite mate" for the flight to Austin. God immediately reminded me of a podcast conversation that I heard Erwin McManus give at Mosaic one day about a flight experience that he had.

Erwin had been getting promptings from God to talk to the guy next to him on a plane from LA to somewhere in Canada and Erwin refused to do it. Finally, about 15 minutes before landing, Erwin gave in and started to dialog with his "suite mate" reasoning that God is a big God and can accomplish anything in that short 15 minute time period. Much to Erwin's dismay, the pilot informed everyone that they could not land and that they would have to turn around and head back. Erwin confessed that he thought it was like God was telling him, "Hey, I gave you the entire flight here to talk to this guy and you waited to the last minute. Now you have the entire flight back to talk to him."

I really wanted to get home to my family so I willingly told God, "Alright, if you want me to talk to this guy then I will do it." I quickly added, "But you're gonna have to give me the words to say 'cause I am not really good at this type of thing. Ya' know, I've never done this before."

Now before you get the wrong mental picture of this character, let me try to illustrate what he looked like.

His facial features appeared to be of a British descent and at first I thought he might actually be David Crowder's long lost brother. He was as tall as the day is long. Seriously, he must have been 6'6" or taller. He probably weighed in around 180 pounds and could have easily been mistaken for a tooth pick. His facial hair told me that he really didn't like the idea of shaving either.

Here is what tipped me off that this was going to be an interesting flight.

He was dressed in all black (not a bad choice) but it was the type of all black that was very reminiscent of a very conservative, traditional, orthodoxical religious group. The crucifix hanging from his neck was proof positive of that assumption. He wore black shoes; black pants; black shirt; black skirt-thingy; black beanie hat; black leather belt (on the outside of this shirt).

I am not traditional. I test everything and question often. I am a musician and have a rebellious streak in me. I hate labels. Don't define me or put me in a box! I am a t-shirt and jeans guy following Jesus. If I could, I would have a mohawk or some crazy hairdo. I wear sandals a lot (it's an Austin thing).

This was going to be an interesting flight!

I walked off to go use the restroom and came back to the terminal area. He was still there but now engaged in conversation with a young lady. I was still a bit in denial at this point but did not want to ask God for some type of sign to tell me that this was His Divine arrangement. I wanted to move into this Divine moment willfully trusting God that this was His doing.

I boarded the plane and sat in my window seat. I slowly waited with fearful anticipation. I was nervous and excited at the same time... but tried to hide it. Before I knew it, a big, overweight gentleman sat down next to me.

What?!? I was sure that the "David Crowder monk" guy was supposed to be sitting next to me. What was going on?

I saw the protagonist walk down the aisle and in the opposite window seat in my aisle. Then it happened. The lady next to him explained that the large guy next to me was her husband and she asked my "monk friend" if he would be willing to trade seats so that they could sit together.

So he moved and sat next to me!

For the next 2-1/2 hours we engaged in conversations about life, music, God and theology. It was an amazing experience! He is a really cool guy with a crazy; "imperfect" past (just like most of us). God completely guided me through the conversations and, as a result, we exchanged emails to keep in touch.

To answer the question that you may be thinking... what religious group? He is a priest with the Russian Orthodox Church and was on a trip back from New York where he got the "OK" to pursue developing a new community of followers in Florida. The community will be a monastery for monks who will engage in the very traditional practices of devoting their lives to prayer and solitude. I asked him how he saw this impacting his community for Jesus and he responded by telling me the goal is to pray a lot. That is over simplifying his response. Essentially, by way of prayer, they intend to change their community by hoping that God will draw out the right type of people to their community as they seek God in their solitude.

I am an advocate of private practices like prayer but I fail to understand how solitude will draw people to God. After all, Jesus told His followers to go into the world (here and here and here and here). All throughout the early church, we saw examples of Jesus' disciples going into their culture and engaging people in conversations that led them to Jesus.

I like my new friend. He wants to follow Jesus too.

However, religion just makes us obedient and moral. A life patterned after Jesus moves us into a new way of living that brings us out of our own self-addiction and into an adventure like no other. It is a revolution of love that has no boundaries that lives in constant connectedness to the God who made us. It ignites within us the passion to seize Divine moments to radically change the world and do the most good in every situation if we are willing.

Life in Jesus is bigger than religion and moral codes. Life in Jesus moves us past obligation into anticipation. Life in Jesus frees us from our past and propels us into our future.

I will never forget that plane ride from Charlotte to Austin. It is the day that I willingly participated in what God is doing in the world. God asked me to engage someone through conversation and to show His love to a complete stranger. I am glad I was listening for His promptings. I am glad I willingly responded.

As I have mentioned previously, I am engaging in a 60 day experiment mentioned in John Burke's new book, Soul Revolution. I have had several great experiences where I have responded positively to promptings from God in different areas of my life. However, I recently experienced a failure that I thought I should share with you.

This entry sucks!I have been really happy with the refreshed relationship that I have been experiencing with God on an hourly basis throughout my 60/60 experience... until Sunday. My son wouldn't cooperate in Kids Quest this weekend so I ended up in the Family Room. While I was listening to John & watching my son, I casually looked outside toward the Garage & that's when it happened. I saw a lady that I am pretty sure is homeless walk up to the refreshment area. God prompted me to go outside. I froze. The thought came to me to pray with her. I was caught in a weird vortex of wanting to go but not being able to move. My feet wouldn't move. Ugh! She left. I asked God for forgiveness for my lack of movement in that Divine moment. After some time, I realized the silver lining... 6 months ago I might not have recognized God's prompting me in that moment. While I don't like my failure to respond, I am encouraged by the growth in my relationship with God and my awareness of His presence.

I called this "encouraged by failure" because the only reason I had the failure is because of my willingness to listen to God on a continual basis. After all, "failure is not falling down but refusing to get up (Chinese proverb)." Had I decided to forgo this experiment and not continue after the first 60 days, I would be missing out on the Divine moments that God is giving me to make an impact on the world around me. Now, I realize that I failed and I do not condone my lack of movement, but so many of the "great heroes" in the Bible failed too. Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Saul (later Paul) proactively killed Christians. David committed adultery then had the girl's husband killed. The list goes on.

I have been driving around the Houston area this week and I was greeted with one of those "motorist information billboards" along the highway that alternated these words:"Hurricane forming in Gulf""Storm forming; Fill your gas tanks"Wouldn't it be nice if we had these types of warnings in life? Ya' know. You can see the storm coming and can have ample time to prepare or "Fill your gas tanks." I know that in my life, this rarely happens. Usually the storms in my life erupt suddenly and without much warning.

I have been contemplating this storm post for a while and in light of my previous post (and today's billboard), I think now is a good time to bring this up.

Storms can be scary and have a destructive tendency. Homes can be damaged or completely ruined. Storms can potentially ruin our lives. I don't really know anyone that cheers when storm clouds ominously appear on the horizon and then unleash their fury hours later.

I grew up in the upper Midwestern cornfields of Illinois in the western suburbs of the Chicagoland area. I am very accustom to storms- all types of storms. I have experienced tornadoes, thunderstorms, floods, droughts, hail, blizzards, ice storms, sleet, rain, windstorms, fog and earthquakes. Yes, even Illinois has earthquakes. I am pretty sure the only things I didn't experience while living in Illinois were hurricanes and volcanoes. I think Chicago weather is like the Bermuda Triangle of the Midwest!

The funny thing about experiencing this crazy mix of weather fury is that storms can be beautiful. Anytime a storm misses where I live, I have the privilege of gazing upon the distant storm clouds with marvel and awe at the majesty of these "cotton mountains." They're terrifyingly beautiful!

I remember one such occasion. I was flying into Austin-Bergstrom Airport coming home from a business trip in Ohio one very stormy night (we Texans have our share of storms too). The pilot had done a great job of maneuvering around some really nasty storms. There was a string of storms stretching from Houston to Chicago that the Gulf Stream used to wreak havoc on the heartland. Tornados were reported all over the central US. As we prepared for landing, I got a good glimpse of some of the storms that were threatening Austin. I sat in my coach class seat admiring the amazing display of power and lights that this storm was producing. It was awesome! The lightening was bouncing all over the thunderhead making it look like it was an overloaded electrical circuit. Sparks were flying from cloud to cloud and streaking across the sky. In the vast darkness of night and the dark void of the storm clouds, these electrical impulses danced around with joy and splendor as they owned the sky. It was a beautiful sight to see.

That made me wonder... I saw the storm as this beautiful display of God's creation and presence but what were the people in the midst of the storm thinking? Were they as awe struck by the beauty as I was? Could they appreciate the awesome display of God's presence in their lives? Or were they reacting like I do in the midst of a storm... worried with self-absorbed preservation wishing that the storm would go away? Which perspective did they choose?

It was during that flight that I came to realize that I don't always possess the perspective necessary to see the storms in my life as beautiful. God does. It is only through trust in Jesus and building a life on the firm foundation on Jesus' teachings that we can begin to see God's perspective on storms.

I wrote previously about this phrase but thought that more could be added to that discussion as I have been uncovering the reality of how to bring this into my life in a tangible way. Here we go.

Imagine with me for a moment that I am a student. I am studying auto repair at my local community college and aspire to one day work on "big rigs." As a student, I am going to read about engines, transmissions, emissions control, exhaust systems, etc. Let's say that every night after my classes when I am at home, I stand in my garage looking at my truck then go back into the house. I do this every week for the entire semester. I gain knowledge and believe everything that I am being taught. I thrive on the quest for more insight on the finer workings of combustion engines. This is a good thing since I want to be the best mechanic that I can be. Still, night after night, week after week, I never once open the hood of my truck to get my hands dirty. How am I going to perform when it is time to take my first test? When I graduate with my degree but do not have practical, hands-on knowledge that demonstrates that I have applied this knowledge to my profession how am I going to survive?

There is a spiritual implication that can be drawn from this example and I have already eluded to it... application. I think that this is the hardest part for most of us. I know that it is for me.

Jesus was wrapping up his first major teaching (referred to as the Sermon on the Mount) and concluded with these words:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practiceis like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matt 7:24-27 ; italics and bold-mine)."

So, here is where I struggle with this teaching... it's hard to do! Seriously. Practice means that I have to do this regularly. Practice means that I won't "get it" immediately. I may fail. I may get dirty. I may have to take risks that seem ridiculously uncivilized, counter-intuitive and counter-cultural.

There's more.

Notice He says "wise man" and not "good man." Likewise, Jesus says "foolish man" and not "bad man." By the way, the word "man" is being used as a general classification for "person." There are so many good things that we can base our life on (money, friends, family, careers, religion) but Jesus is saying that only a life firmly planted in Him will endure the storms or trials of life. So that means that we can be good people with good intentions but if we are not grounded in the application of what He taught, then we will suffer a disastrous outcome when the storms of life move up against us with full force.

Furthermore, we can even be very religious people who observe all of the Church's rituals and traditions yet still miss the point. The point being that more knowledge plus prayer plus meditation plus confession plus belief don't add up to a life that can endure hardships. It is good to know and believe in Jesus' teachings but it is a wise choice to live like it's true. Let me be very clear. More Church never amounted to a life characterized by total transformation. That type of revolution only comes from living for Jesus.

Another observation that can be made is that it is the storms that revealed the true character of each home. When life is going our way- money is flowing, friendships are growing, careers are secure- we tend to ignore our foundations. Life is good. It is only in the storms that we find out how secure our house- our lives- really are.

Additionally, Jesus assumes that storms will come. He doesn't say "if" or "maybe." Nope. He just says, "The rain came down..." He knows that the storms of life are going to happen and He wants to help us build the best possible life that can endure the trials.

What is the purpose of enduring trials? It reveals our character. Who we are at our core. Just like living in the tension of not always knowing what to do in every situation reveals our character, so do trials. Jesus is telling us here that a life based securely on Him and His teachings will be a life characterized by unshakable confidence in the face of insurmountable odds when we live like what we know and believe in Him is true.

I have been discovering recently a common theme in my life and my journey. I move from one situation to another, which is no different than anyone else in the human experience, but I am realizing that each expression of these situations are different versions of the same thing... tension. To clarify, I am not talking about stress, anxiety or worry. Rather, it is the realization that I move from a rock and a hard place in one situation to a rock and a hard place in another. It is the distance between those two items, the rock and the hard place, that determine how I react in any given situation, relationship or discussion. When the distance between the two is far apart, I feel the ability to move within that tension with less trepidation. When the distance between the two is close and squeezing me, the tension becomes a reality of great discomfort.

My current employer is going through transition. My last employer went through similar transition. Change is going to happen whether I like it or not. I exist in that tension. Some people respond by fleeing the tension. Others take ownership of the tension. While others lash out in pain from suffering wishing the tension didn't exist but fail to recognize the opportunity for growth. I have done all three. It is in the communication of why the tension exists that unlocks my responsiveness.

Tension exists to reveal character.

Before I continue, let me clarify that what I am about to reveal to you in regard to my wrestling within this tension. It is not a "one size fits all" solution or observation. I do believe that it has implications that can be used in many circumstances. It is this "one size fits all" tension that has been predominant in my life. Once I wrap my heart and mind around revealed knowledge and truth I immediately start assuming that I need to apply this to all areas of my life. However, I believe that we are supposed to live in the tension of not having a "one size fits all" response to life's quirks but there is a pattern that emerges that can guide us.

Let's continue.

I have been really struggling with some of the biblical truths that require me to balance between the rock of truth and the hard place of grace. Yes, the mental image I just painted pairing those words together was VERY intentional. Here's why.

Truth is solid, unmovable like a rock. Truth is... well, true. Grace is a hard place because it requires putting others first and that's not easy for me. Quite honestly, in the past I have always leaned towards truthful words rather than words of grace. This is not about whether or not to be honest, we should always be honest. This is a discussion of how do I speak truthfully while living in the tension of extending grace? This is called speaking the truth in love, which is fairly difficult and this is where I have discovered the disconnect. So many times I want answers to "How do I..." or "What should I do if..." It's like I want to know the one way to handle _________ situation, relationship or conversation. However, I think the answer lies in the tension of "Well, it depends." Please understand, I am not referring to a world view where nothing is true and it is all up to individual interpretation. No. What I am expressing is that every person is not the same and that we should treat each other with respect bearing each others' personal convictions, concerns and experiences in mind when we engage each other.

So I swim in this tension of how to respond. When I am at work. When I am at home. When I am with friends. When I am with family. When I am surrounded by strangers. How can I have the confidence to know that I don't know yet still act or respond in a way that values others?

This tension tests my true character in these moments. How I respond in action or word shows who I am at my core. If living in this tension makes me vulnerable and living in his tension reveals my true character, then what I believe in or trust in the most in life determines how I respond. If I trust in my friends or family above all else, then I will respond as they would. If I trust in myself above all else, then I will respond with my best interest in mind.

What if we trusted in something bigger than our friends, family or ourselves? What if our core character was Jesus' character? How would living in this tension look?

Let me offer this possible response. With our character patterned after Jesus, we would be able to stand in the gap of uncertainty with confidence knowing that God will help us move through the tension in a way that would do the most good for others and ultimately point to Him. After all, it was Jesus who said that we need to love God above all else and to love others second. So if at our core we are trusting in God by loving Him first, then our response in the tensions of life will be moments of Divinely inspired movement that truly put others' needs ahead of our own. We need a healthy vulnerability that moves us to action dependent on guidance from God that allows us to step out in faith knowing that He is enough in every situation. THAT is why the tension is so important. God wants us to rely on Him and to build the character of His Son, Jesus, in us so that we will be a blessing to others and live in a way that points them to Him.